Fruit basket



Feb. .5, 1952 e. c. HOLLAND FRUIT BASKET Filed Sept. 20, 1948 cuRr s HOLLAND SGH'W SKVM Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates, to. a. basket. and more particularly to a container or basket in which fruit may be packed by a, grower, stored, shipped, and retailed directly to a consumer. The basket is specifically designed as a container for apples and is described with reference thereto, but it will be understood that the basket may be used for other fruit, as. well, such as pears. peaches, oranges, etc.

Apples commonly are packed by growers, stored, and shipped to market in large. containers, usually tub-shaped bushel baskets. barrels, or box-type crates. The, apples remain in such containers during purchase by wholesalers and distribution to retailers. The apples, may then be dumped into abin for purchase inpound lots by the consumer. or the latter may buy direct from the packing and shippingcontainer.

There are numerous disadvantages to such large containers. Packaging in large bulk results in bruised fruit, since the lower layers of fruit must support the entire weight of numerous overlying. layers. Large bulk containers also necessitate rehandling the, fruit foraretail sale to a consumer, thusaiiording an opportunity. for further bruising of the fruit as: well.v as consuming time during a; counting or-weighing; process. In the case of tube-shaped, bushel baskets and barrels, storage and shipping space isnot utilized to the maximum becauseoi the round shape of the containers. Bushel baskets containers; also usually have a bulging-cover caused by the necessity of obtaining; a tight, pack..- Loose fruit resulting from a slack; pack will" roll around; in the. c ntainer wh nin transit and. become. ba ly bruised. A tight pack usually-- can be efiected in conventional bushel baskets, however, only; by packing the basket. overfull; in the center; and he o n h m. of he c ver downinto fastening engagement with; the. rim of the; con,- tainer. The result, is a. bulging; cover. Av bulging cover, whenfilledcontfiiners arerstacked, in on to wast n tora e orship ne spa causes the weight of overlying containers of the stack to be carriedby the contents.- of, the lower o i s. ndnot: bythe. ontainer Wei-18;. The

e u sv n e s ve bru sin of the r it. n the container- C a e or. bqxr ype. lar e. k. con.- tainers for fruit also pos the; above described b ec i n b lg on. he; s des aswell a the top.

A pr i i s en. Qbiec or this ve tion. to, p o e a o su er siz container, for n king, storing, shipping, and retailing fruit It; is; auothenohieet. Q;- i iisi inventioate nip-*- vide a fruit container thatmakes substantially maximum utilization of storage and shipping space.

It is still another object. of this; invention to provide a fruit container; thatv protects the contents thereof against damage from external forces.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an inexpensive fruit container which may be sold together with its contents directly to a consumer.

Still another object of this: invention is, to provide a fruit container withconvenient handle-like carrying means, that. may be disposed in a non-interfering position While the basket is being packed, stored. and/or: shipped, and yet readily may be placedin carrying position when needed.

Another object; of this. invention. is to provide an inexpensive fruit; container of; simple yet sturdy construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the; following description and accompanying drawings, inv which:

Figure 1 isa perspective view oi a container embodying this; invention, withthecover in place and the carrying means, in; operative position. A portion of the cover-.is broken away to show details more clearly.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a container withthe cover removed and filled with. apples, showing the. preferred position oi the, carrying means during shipment and storage.

Referring to. Figure 1 of thedrawings, a container embodying this. invention is illustrated by a generally rectangular basket having substantially flat upwardly diverging side and end walls, Hi and II respectively; and a substantially flat bottom $2. The bottom I2 of the: basket is formed by two interwoven sets: of spaced parallel splints l3, disposed at right angles to each other. These splints l3 preferabl consist of thin strips of wood. Integral end' extensions M of the bottom splints l3 arescored and bent into an upstanding positionto form a partof the side and end walls. Other spaced splints l5 are interwoven with. theupstanding end extensions M to complete the side and end walls i0 and II, respectively. The rim of: the basket is re inforced by hoop-like inner and outer wooden strips IS and l i, respectively'.. whicharesecured to the. upper edges; of the. side. and end wallsv by nails; "3,, as; shown, staples, or. other suitable iest nins; means. The strips; 16.. and; 11 not. only reinforce the basket rim, but also serve to secure the integral end extensions I4 of the bottom splints I3 in upstanding position and thus maintain the shape of the basket.

The basket is intended to be constructed in different sizes, each of which is designed to contain a relatively small number, such as two dozen, high quality apples of substantially the same size, i. e. a standard size, although small variations in size of the fruit intended for any one basket size are acceptable. All the different size baskets ar designed so that they may be 1 filled level full with always the same number of apples of the size corresponding thereto. This same number may always be packed, in no more than two or three layers, tightly in the basket, for reasons later described. A package with these characteristics eliminates, to some extent, the necessity for hand sizing, since fruit larger or smaller than that size for which a particular size basket is designed cannot bepacked tightly and only level full in the basket. It also will be seen that since the bottom layer of fruit supports the weight of no more than two overlying layers, bruising of the lower layers of fruit is largely eliminated. It also is pointed out that the upwardly diverging side and end walls It) and l! of the container permit a plurality of empty baskets to be nested and the covers therefor (later described) to be stacked separately,

spaced transverse slats 20 secured to the upper edges thereof by nails; as shown, staples, or any other suitable fastening means. The lateral spacing between the rails I9 is such that when the cover is in place the slats 20 rest directly on the reinforced'rim of the basket with the rails snugly engaging over the upper edges of the longitudinal side walls l Hence, if the mouth of the lightly constructed basket has spread somewhat during packing of fruit therein, the cover rails I9 serve to pull the rather flexible side walls I0 of the basket back into place and so pack the fruit tightly and level full therein. The cover rails [9 also serve to maintain the shape of the basket when filled with fruit and stacked one upon another.

The cover slats 20 are uniformly spaced to provide at least three transverse slots in the cover. One slot is located substantially centrally of the cover with the remaining two slots spaced uniformly on either side thereof. wire fasteners 22 are secured to the reinforced rim of the basket at substantially the mid point of the side walls. In. These fasteners 22 are adapted to extend upwardly through the central slot in the cover and then are bent outwardly and downwardly over the cover side rails l9, as shown, to secure the cover in place.

The basket also is provided with handle-like means, for carrying purposes, comprising two cord-like flexible members 23 formed of wire, string, plastic, or other suitable material. The ends of each member are secured to the opposite side walls l8, as shown, at longitudinal locations adjacent the two end slots in the cover. Staples 24 or other suitable means fasten the ends of each member 23 to the inner (as shown) or outer side of the rim of the basket. The length of the members 23 is such that, when the basket cover is removed, the intermediate portions thereof may .be' disposed inlpositions extending closely Deformable around the ends of the basket, as illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 1, and frictionally maintained in such position. During the packing process, the members 23 preferably are placed in this position in order to be out of the way. After the basket is filled with fruit, the members are removed from around the ends of the basket and disposed on top of the fruit, preferably in a position such as shown diagrammatically in Figure 2. The cover may then be placed in position and fastened in place.

When the flexible members 23 are to be used as handles to carry a filled and covered basket,

the intermediate portions thereof are easily reached on top of the fruit through the two end slots in the cover and drawn out therethrough into the position illustrated in Figure 1. It will be seen that in this position the intermediate portions of both members 2 3 serve as bails that easily may be grasped in one hand to carry the basket. It is pointed out that although the flexible members are completely out of the way during packing, storage, or shipment, they are conveniently available for use at any time even with the cover in place.

The invention also contemplates simple and inexpensive means for reinforcing the basket against collapsing forces imposed by vertical loads thereon. Such loads are commonly caused by stacking filled baskets during storage and/or shipment. It readily will be seen that the light weight upstanding splint extensions Hi forming a part of the side and end walls 16 and H are not strong enough to resist crushing stresses imposed on the basket by vertical loads. Accordingly, if reinforcing means are not provided, the walls H3 and It may collapse under such vertical loads and cause the load to be borne by the fruit in the basket, thereby bruising the fruit. To eliminate this undesirable result, narrow, flat elongated reinforcing members or struts 25 are used. These struts 25 may be formed of wood or other suitable material sufliciently strong enough to bear any normal vertical loads imposed on the basket. The struts are of the same height as the side walls of the basket and have their upper ends secured to the reinforced rim thereof, preferably between the inner and outer strips [6 and I1, by nails, staples, or other suitable fastening means. The struts 25 extend downward from the rim into the basket, preferably flush against the side walls ID, with the lower ends engaging the bottom 12 of the basket. Six-such struts 25, three along each side wall [3, have been found sufficient to reinforce the basket against normal vertical loads. The struts preferably are spaced longitudinally along the side walls at positionslocated between those occupied by adjacent apples, when the latter are packed in the basket, so that the edges of the struts will be out of contact with the packed apples to avoid damage thereto.

It is to be understood that any vertical loads imposed on the basket cover will be transmitted directly to the reinforced rim, and from the rim directly to the struts 25, which engage the bottom l2'of the basket. Hence, no normal load will cause the lightly constructed side and end walls I!) and H to collapse and thus transfer the load to the fruit in the basket.

The central vertical strut 25 along each side wall Ill performs another function, in addition to that of preventing side wall collapse. The conventional wire fastening members 22, which are secured in place by piercing the basket rim, are quite stiff and require considerable force to bend from an original upright position down over the side rails l9 to fasten the cover in place. Similarly a large force is required to straighten these fasteners back-into their original position in order to unfasten the cover for removal. The rim of the basket, though reinforced by the hoop-like strips I6 and 11, may not be strong enough to resist such bending of the fasteners 22 without giving way. The central vertical strut provides the needed additional reinforcement to the rim at the location where the fasteners are secured. The fasteners 22 accordingly pierce not only the strips l6 and H, but also the upper end of the central vertical struts 25. Hence, when the fasteners are bent outwardly and downwardly, the central struts, the lower ends of which are held against inward movement by the packed fruit, prevent breakage of the weak side walls It.

This invention also may be embodied in a basket having walls formed of cardboard, thin plastic material, or the like, either in sheet or strip form. Furthermore, it will be obvious that various changes in the specific basket illustrated and described may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the invention. Accordingly, this invention embraces all modifications which come within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A rectangular open-mouthed container having upwardly diverging side and end walls of light construction; hoop means secured to the upper ends ofsaid walls to reinforce the rim of said container; a cover for said container comprising depending side rails adapted to closely embrace the outer sides of said side walls and having transverse slats secured thereto, said slats being spaced to provide a central transverse slot in said cover and at least one transverse slot on each side of said central slot; cover fastening means comprising bendable metallic members secured to each said side wall at substantially the mid point thereof, each said member being adapted to extend upwardly through said central cover slot and be bent downwardly over the corresponding said side rail to retain said cover on said container; and handle means for carrying said container comprising a pair of pliable cord-like members, one associated with each of said cover slots on opposite sides of said central slot, having the ends thereof secured to oppositesaid'side walls adjacent the said associated slots in said cover, the intermediate portions of said cords being adapted to extend upwardly through said associated slots and into close proximity of one another, whereby both said portions may be grasped in one hand for carrying said container.

2. A light weight inexpensive basket-like shipping container adapted to hold and protect a relatively small number of select fruit for retail sale as a unit to a customer, said container comprising: an open-mouthed substantially rectangular receptacle having substantially unitary side, end, and unreinforced bottom walls of light construction, said side and end walls being; upwardlydivergent to permit a plurality of said receptacles to be nested when empty; hoop means secured to the upper ends of said side and end walls for reinforcing the rim of said receptacle; a flat-topped cover for said receptacle comprising spaced transverse slats secured to depending side rails and providing a pair of transverse slots spaced at equal distances from opposite ends of said cover, said slats being adapted'to restupon the upper edge of said side walls with said side rails closely embracing the outer sides thereof; a plurality of vertical-load-supporting straight struts disposed closely adjacent and parallel to the inner sides of said side walls and substantially evenly spaced therealong, each said strut having the upper end thereof secured to said reinforced rim and the lower end thereof in contact with said bottom wall, whereby said struts prevent crushing of said lightly constructed side and end walls under vertical loads and also prevent twisting or rolling of the side wall portions of said reinforced rim by torsionaljforcesysaid receptacle and cover, when assembled, being free of protuberances above the top of said cover, whereby a plurality of filled containers, can be stacked without damage to the containers or their contents; and handle means comprising a pair of pliable cord-like members, one associated with each of said slots, each said member having the opposite ends thereof secured to opposite portions of the reinforced rim of said receptacle at locations adjacent said associated cover slot, the intermediate portion of each saidmember being adapted to be disposed normally within said receptacle, when said cover is assembled therewith, and to be withdrawn outwardly through said associated slot for use, whereby the intermediate portions of both said members may be grasped in one hand for carrying the container.

GEORGE C. HOLLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENT 

